So, Justin LaNassa, the main individual apparently behind the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum and the one attempting to license the iconic TSR trademark images to third parties, has had some choice words to say about my prior observations and speculations over on Facebook:
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum - Membership Rates and Pay-To-Play Game Table Pricing
X5 Temple of Death & X6 Quagmire! for B/X D&D each 4.99 for POD & PDF at DTRPG
I'm not sure if these were miskeyed or not, but I've already placed my order for X5 Temple of Death & X6 Quagmire! for 4.99 each for the Print on Demand & PDF. Normally WotC would price these around 4.99 for the PDF, 9.99 for the Print version, and 10.98 for the Print plus PDF package, so this is excellent pricing. As someone who has few of the Expert series of D&D modules in my collection, this is an inexpensive way to plug some holes.
This pricing may be limited, so I wouldn't wait long if this interests you.
If you, the gentle reader, find other unexpected bargains at DTRPG or elsewhere and would like to share it with The Tavern's community, you can drop the mention as a comment below or email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.
Friday, October 16, 2020
Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum Claims Ownership of "Classic" TSR Logos, Offers to License them to OSR Publishers
The Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, located in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is offering to license a selection of "Classic" TSR Logos via a claim of state trademark of "TSR".
Note: The Federal trademark for TSR is WAS owned by TSR Games (edit - the TM was CANCELED last year - wow, this is a magilla) publishers of the Top Secret New World Order RPG. TSR Games registered its federal trademark in 2011. The trademark was formerly owned by WotC, who were determined to have abandoned the trademark in 2004. At this point, TSR Games would be relying upon Common Law, which is shaky ground in trademark law.
Additional note: The iconic images of the various "classic" TSR logos would likely still fall under copyright law. The images created from 1978 onward would then still be owned by WotC. Ownership of images prior to 1977 would need the consultation of an IP lawyer, as the possibility is some may be in the public domain.
Observation. The Dungeon Hobby Shop has filed for at least three federal trademarks regarding the various TSR Logos:
https://uspto.report/TM/90124287
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Ashley, My Feline Daughter
Originally sharted on Facebook:
This evening Rach & I took our feline daughter to the emergency vet. Our cat Ashley had been acting off the last few days. Her stomach was distended, she had some difficulty walking and no longer was able to jump up on my desk. She no longer was getting up to greet me in my middle of the night trips to the bathroom.
Ashly was 14. That's 86 in human years. She was diagnosed with cancer. As a cancer survivor myself, I couldn't see me potentially putting Ash through such a discomforting and painful experience when she'd have no understanding of why it was happening.
I'll miss the comfort she gave me during some really low times in my life, and her efforts to nurse me and mother me when I was suffering from congestive heart failure earlier this year.
She'd only play with a toy once she figured out how it worked, would ask for food NOW so she would have it for later, actually touched my glasses inside and out to understand how they worked and woke me up for snoring too loudly.
I've lost many pets in my 53 years, but only one feline daughter.
Ashly, you will be greatly missed.
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Kickstarter - Space Scoundrels - A Not Too Serious Science Fiction RPG
Thom's latest project is Space Scoundrels - A Not Too Serious Science Fiction RPG, which is being funded on Kickstarter. Light-hearted SciFi is right up my alley, and the pricing is certainly right for my wallet. 4 bucks for the PDf and 8 bucks for the at-cost POD and the PDF (really the sweet point I think). I'm in for 12 bucks, same as the above but I get credited as a backer in the final release.
Designed as a beer-and-pretzels game with minimal rules and fast-paced skill progression, Space Scoundrels takes a lot of the science out of science-fiction for those that love the genre but don't want to get mired in lots of physics and math.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Amazon Prime Day RPG Sales
Let's just dive in, shall we?
edit: Sigh - the thumbnails and links all work in the preview, but apparently not in the full post share... nevermind, you need to disable your adblocker - Tenkar
Note: Some prices are time-limited.
The following dice have 80% off coupons, making the sets a buck a set with free shipping:
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.
You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
Monday, October 12, 2020
Watch the Fireside Chat with Vince Florio, Podfather of the OSR
Yesterday I sat down with Vince Florio, Podfather of the OSR. Yes, "Podfather" is a bit of a joke, but the reality is, Vince was the primary force that brought podcasting to the OSR. Other amazing podcasts have followed, either in his footsteps more or less or finding their own path (huge thanks to Anchor.fm for opening wide the doors of podcasting in general, and the OSR in particular)
For The Tavern, YouTube is the Final Frontier. Much of what will appear on the Tavern Chat Podcast will be recorded on YouTube, in a large part to the ability to Livestream. Feedback, as I record, is literally priceless, and I think will strengthen the Tavern Chat Podcast. There will be other content that will be unique to YouTube and Vince did suggest that the return of the dragon puppet Feltothraxis should happen, so it will ;)
If you want to participate in the Livestreams and give realtime feedback, subscribe to The Tavern's YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/ErikTenkar. I truly appreciate your support, and every subscriber to The Tavern's YouTube Channel is important, as is every member of this community.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.
You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Keeping Track of my Gaming Ideas
Right now is a weird moment for me.....
I probably should be taking part in Gary Con's Autumn Revel Virtual Gaming Event, which I have already played in once so far (so I'm not ignoring it). Now I normally have the TV on when I'm blogging, and my TV of choice is frequently YouTube....
....and I'm seeing Erik's live YouTube interview with "The Evil DM".
Just weird....
Now I have to admit that I'm one of those guys who always seems to be thinking of gaming in one way, shape, or form. Sure, I shut off/down a bit when I'm geeking out on something else (I just finished Season 2 of The Boys this morning!), but even then I see a lot of things filtered through my gaming lens. I get some (I think) awesome ideas when I'm busy doing other stuff. So much so I have to keep something to write with nearby lest I lose a good idea.
In a pinch I can use my cell phone, usually a quick picture or a note written in Evernote, but nothing beats a mini notebook and pen/pencil. I tend to lose digital notes or just forget they are there.....did I save that in Evernote, or did I use Google Docs? Wait....maybe I have a screenshot....
This morning I saw a cool word, Palimpsest, and thought "I could use this in an adventure seed.....again.*" Evidently some ancient word nerds have discovered some new ancient languages, and expanded on others, by looking at ancient texts from a monastery that had to get creative and recycle old parchments they normally wouldn't have. I took a screenshot and of, course I lost it. If not for having to post today I think I'd have lost the idea.....
Just a few minutes ago, just before starting this post (I was going a totally different direction today) I was checking Facebook and mis-read something that has to go into the notebook. Hopefully you'll see what I saw:
Here's a link to the actual article.
I totally need to play a WWI RPG placed on the Eastern Front where we have to face off against Werewolves, or maybe we get to play the Werewolves. As a vet I'm leaning on the side of the soldiers.....
In case this becomes an itch I really have to scratch, I need to ask what system should I use for this? My Initial thoughts were to take and alter Operation Whitebox, which is basically Swords & Wizardry. Anybody have any thoughts on this?
*This came from a news article I was reading over breakfast, and NOT a messed-up segue to my stuff on DTRPG. It's PWYW and if you go there from here.....don't pay anything!
Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition
-
DragonDex: Dragon Magazine Index - Bookmarking these for my own use, and possibly yours: DragonDex - Dragon Article List by Author DragonDex - Fiction in Dragon by Author4 hours ago
-
The Fiction Becomes the System for Advancement; Or, Something Needs to be Heavy - In the comments on a recent entry, the subject of rules-lite games and level advancement came up. It has always been my position that problems with rules...7 hours ago
-
OSR Review & Commentary On Cepheus Universal: Fast-Play Rules For The Cepheus Universal rpg - "A 3-page summary of the Cepheus Universal rules (distilled from the 456-page main book). All you need to play a fast, simple game using just the core rul...9 hours ago
-
Music Monday - Christmas Edition - I had a few songs I wanted to share today so I decided to just add them all to one post.-------------------------This is do dumb, but in such a ridiculous ...11 hours ago
-
Companion Chronicles #7: The Adventure of the Craven Knight - Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition and the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, The Compani...11 hours ago
-
Grimwall: General Grivek - General Grivek is the commander of Grimwall Keep, leading the unrighteous men seeking repentance as they struggle against the forces of chaos. While servic...13 hours ago
-
The House of 99 Souls - By Danilo FrontaniHellwinter Forge of WondersOSELevels 2-4 Until two hundred years ago, Brightmoore Manor stood as a beacon of splendour and harmony. It wa...17 hours ago
-
Grimtooth's Traps (1981) - From the web: Subtitled: a game-master's aid for all role-playing systems. A compendium of catastrophic traps, sinister snares, engines of evil, and dea...21 hours ago
-
#19 Winter's Tax - The party is split. Not of their own doing, but split none the less. Last session found the spellcasters Bloggah and Dremont in an undisclosed destinatio...1 day ago
-
Market Making - *Im having a busy December in meatspace so slowing down writing - I war 2 weeks ahead so merry xmas in advance new year...1 day ago
-
Stretching the d20 - The d20 is granular enough for me. Each number in the d20 represents a 5% chance. I really don't feel the need to distinguish "stealth 46%" from "stealth ...2 days ago
-
Writing playlists for all occasions - Hello again! Going off the idea of inspiration elaborated on by the prior post, I also have music playing while I write my various games and fiction pieces...3 days ago
-
Mothership: Advent Dawn session 1 - On some backwater planet, Ossie Marcial, SpaceTuber and Teamster specializing in computer repair and zero-G industrial equipment (hover forklift certifi...3 days ago
-
Fight On! has a new website - FYI: The original Old School Renaissance fanzine *Fight On! *has a new website.4 days ago
-
This Old Dragon: Issue #115 - [image: Dragon Magazine #115] I think I have enough time left in this year to do another one of these. My box of old Dragons, though, is getting a little li...4 days ago
-
Worse Wounds - I'm testing out an alternative wound system for *clears throat* *Intergalactic Bastionland.* This game is very much at the "throw everything into a docum...5 days ago
-
-
On Manifestos - The paid media was instructed to not print this. To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a leng...1 week ago
-
Geeky SKAturday SKAliday: Oi to the World! - Next in line for ska songs that should probably be enjoyed every holiday season: "Oi to the World!" I only first heard this one when No Doubt covered it o...1 week ago
-
The Tarot of Pips - Somewhere in your dice collection is a die like this one, the humblest of dice. Although you don't know it, this small white die carries with it a secr...1 week ago
-
Ælf-Adal - VotE Remastered Development - Their Origins in Dream They come from out of Nightmare, though whose, or why, no-one remembers now. They may have been the dying dream of a coma-locked god,...1 week ago
-
Blue Sky Temple, Revised - Last week, we made a crowdsourced dungeon on Bluesky. It was fun and it yielded a cool dungeon with a lot of good ideas mashed together. This week, I ...2 weeks ago
-
[CAMPAIGN JOURNAL] News on the March! Episode IV. - This post continues the series of brief play reports I have been posting on Discord. This does not cover every single session (sometimes, recon and setup...2 weeks ago
-
Pirates and Necromancers, a Play Report - Over the Thanksgiving weekend we did a lot of gaming ranging from “off-table” domain level stuff to some solo adventures to spell and magic item rese...2 weeks ago
-
Who Made Blackmoor? A History of Setting Development - In a sense Blackmoor "grew like Topsy", that is to say wild and on its own. Perhaps the first iteration of anything we might call Blackmoor is the well-d...2 weeks ago
-
Games, Grinches, and Good Ideas... - As we enter the holiday season, yours truly can't help but remember what was doubtless the most important (and consequential) Christmas gift to ever grac...2 weeks ago
-
Warsmith's Words: Magic Trev the Sorcerer - Greetings fellow Warsmiths! A very quick update to share a picture of the latest addition to the Iron Warriors. This is Magic Trev the Chaos Sorcerer. I...3 weeks ago
-
Fokker D-II and D-III - The Fokker D-II was a fairly mediocre and uninspired successor to the E-III monoplane responsible for the “Fokker Scourge” of 1915-’16. The D-III impr...3 weeks ago
-
OSR: Magical Industrial Gunboats - Here's some useful information for river-based adventures using *Magical Industrial Revolution*. Skip to Part 3 or click this PDF link if you just want t...4 weeks ago
-
Quick Convention Report: LongCon 2024 - [image: Quick Convention Report: LongCon 2024] Last weekend I was able to attend LongCon in Longview, TX. I had a work trip to the Nashville area that en...5 weeks ago
-
Welcome new Greyhawk Fans! - With the publication of the new Dungeon Master’s Guide, there are doubtless going to be a lot of new D&D players interested in my favorite setting, the Wor...2 months ago
-
D&D Player’s Handbook 2024 - Being an incomplete, visual review of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. I got a copy of this almost entirely on the strength of the new cover art: (This is the “...3 months ago
-
Concerning the Future of Traveller - I have been a fan of Traveller for a long time and have bought various books over the years from just about every Traveller licensee, as well as from Ma...3 months ago
-
New Planar Magic Items - Hellsguard, Mephrytis, Ring of Planar Vision, and Four New Potions - I've been busily working away on various projects since the end of April, including attending the North Texas RPG Con in Dallas from 5-10 June 2024 (and ...5 months ago
-
Grimdark vs. Eucatastrophe - Noisms has some interesting ideas in this post about his desire for some depth to his grimdark, and turns to Gene Wolfe and Tolkien for relief. Now, it ...6 months ago
-
Musings on Sleep in OD&D – Is it Over-Powered? - Link to discussion Let’s look at the sleep spell in Men & Magic: >Sleep: A Sleep spell affects from 2–16 1st-level types (hit dice of up to 1 + 1), from...6 months ago
-
It's been a bit - Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well! I've had a lot going on and haven't had much time to blog lately. Heres a recap of gaming events and other st...7 months ago
-
Session #12 & Adventure Sites Compilation - Firstly, I wanted to let everybody know that Adventure Sites I by Coldlight Press is now available as a free download on DriveThruRPG. It includes my own...8 months ago
-
Jim Ward's Adventure in Gygax's Wonderland - Last weekend at GaryCon, many of us raised a glass to the memory of Jim Ward, who passed away just days before the convention. Ward was very helpful to m...8 months ago
-
The Economy Engine, v0.2 - I made a thing. For D&D 3rd edition, so it might not be that interesting to a lot of people. But I made it and I think it’s cool. The 3rd edition Dungeon M...10 months ago
-
*'s in SpaaaaaAaaaace - A lot of SF (including a certain 2D6 RPG grandaddy) deal with ancient aliens taking humans from Earth and dropping them, fleas and all, on one or more w...10 months ago
-
Housekeeping 2024 - Coactus Illustration © Heather Gwinn. A gift she gave me in 2013 for an edition of Miscreated Creatures which I hope exists someday. Coloring by me. I am a...11 months ago
-
Last move - to self-hosting! - As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to self-hosting. I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at) Blog: ht...11 months ago
-
Time Rolls On - Today is December 31, 2023, in the mid-afternoon. In less than ten hours it will be 2024. 2023 2023 was a good year. But all years are good years. Both goo...11 months ago
-
Osamu Tezuka (1928 - 1989) - [image: Osamu Tezuka - Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970]Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970 [image: Osamu Tezuka - Shonen Magazine Cover Illustration 1970]Shonen Maga...2 years ago
-
This is an Important Game Mechanic - *"That's the GM's Regional Map from my AOWG. And it's a damned good regional map. It's not a good map for a Simple Homebrew Campaign. It does some s$&...2 years ago
-
Clean Your Room - Looking back at my little blog here. That last post… wow, I was having fun playing WOW Classic! That was August of 1999 and I was having a blast… it was ...2 years ago
-
-
Steve Jackson Interview - James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and upcomi...4 years ago
-
The Hero’s Journey 2nd Edition, Campbellian roleplaying at its best! - (this review done using the reviewers own purchased copy) I have been a James Michael Spahn fan since he wrote his Swords & Wizardry Companion. His writing...4 years ago
-
ToAD Monster of the Week: Crocoman - Now that I'm back doing the blog thing I thought I would use Tome of Adventure Design to create monsters for The Black Hack. Using the monster tables in th...4 years ago
-
More Arden Vul Art - Another great piece from Del, this one's the Forum of Set: a place that the PCs may spend quite a bit of time within.4 years ago
-
OCHRE SAND - Init +0 Ranged Atk • fire burst +3 (1d14+1, 20') AC 17 HD 3d6 MV 60 Act 1d24 SP 'breath' weapon, sideslip, perfect silence, morphing Fort +5 Ref +8 Will...4 years ago
-
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie - When I was a boy I loved fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots, Rumpelstiltskin - I devoured all of it. My fascination that there was a strang...4 years ago
-
Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, TSR's Co-Founder Now Available - LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/collections/the-red-book-line/products/merlynd-the-magician5 years ago
-
New Map of the Elf Empire and Southern Isles - I’ve been having fun developing a new map-drawing style that I think is finally reaching a certain level of maturity. And yeah, it owes a lot to Matthew Ad...5 years ago
-
The Faithful - An Optional Archetype for Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells Revised Edition - Work on the revised edition of Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is moving along. This will be a hefty tome, with a LOT of tools and new options to customiz...5 years ago
-
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule - *As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in Warren...5 years ago
-
Fiction in Airhde - On a whim this weekend, I picked up some fiction off the TLG store. *A Houseless God & Other Tales* and *The Mirrored Soul & Other Tales*, both by the T...5 years ago
-
-
Ravensburg Reboot: Streamlined City Map - I mentioned in my last post how I was tweaking and reworking parts of my Ravensburg setting. Today I streamlined the city map. The old map had lots of redu...5 years ago
-
And Now the News Draft Download on Patreon - It's self-styled Throwback Thursday and *having just released the 34-page draft booklet of Hill Cantons news to my Patreon backers* I am going to indulge m...5 years ago
-
The Withered Crag available now - I just enabled the sale of the PDF version of The Withered Crag at DriveThruRPG a few minutes ago, and the custom print version will be available startin...5 years ago
-
Annihilation Rising Goes live - The latest in Fail Squad Games’ Quick Kick projects has gone live and needs your support!! This project is only running 11 days and ends on 5/28/2019! ...5 years ago
-
James's Celebration of Life - We could not have asked for a prettier day for James's service. It was a bit chilly and windy but gorgeous. A heartfelt thank you to all that joined us tod...5 years ago
-
Trap Tuesday: A step back - I will get back to Tomb of Horrors soon. I found a topic that was interesting enough to take a break. While interacting in a 5E group on Facebook I talked ...5 years ago
-
Let's Talk About Pacing! - The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player was...5 years ago
-
Profane and Profound Prep Part 2 - This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release, along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a Saint 8000...5 years ago
-
MIDDLE DUNGEONS LEVEL FIVE 158 STAIRS. - 158 STAIRS. These stairs descend thirty feet to Area 79 on Level 6.6 years ago
-
Please, I don't do paid advertisements - don't ask. - A little note since people have asked me about this. My video channel's *not* an advertising platform, so I'm not available for hire if you want to promote...6 years ago
-
New website! - Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that site wil...6 years ago
-
Please Update Your Link! - If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is out of date. Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is h...6 years ago
-
Total Sales for WB:FMAG - Hi Folks, It's been a long time since I provided an update for the sales of White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game. *LULU* Print: 396 PDF: 433 *OBS*...6 years ago
-
How can We Destroy this Campaign World? - d12 1. You must trick a bard into strumming the *Chords of Fate* on the *Lute of Annihilation* 2. Legends tell of thermonuclear weapons beneath megadunge...6 years ago
-
Mord Mar - Session 5 - We had another successful delve into the dungeon yesterday. The delvers: Moira, the Magic-User Radovan - Human Cleric (of Odin?) Khazgar Stonehand - Dwarf ...6 years ago
-
A Small, Quiet Plea - There has been a great deal of discussing political agendas, social grievances, and personal attacks within the little corner of gaming that is my hobby....6 years ago
-
Bundle of Fantasy Age - Bundle of Holding: Dragon Age/Fantasy Age: Available until March 12. PA Presents: Fantasy AGE Freeport live play Green Ronin in 2018 The Fantasy Age RPG ma...6 years ago
-
New Free PDF Module: The Hyqueous Vaults - A new dungeon module—written in celebration of OSRIC's 10th Birthday—by Rebecca Dettmann, Allan T. Grohe, Jr., Jimm Johnson, Matthew Riedel, Alex Zisch, a...7 years ago
-
Session XCIII: One Pissed Off Dragon! - Our ongoing Swords and Wizardry sandbox campaign... *Current Player Characters:* *Thenus* (Ranger) *Wang Du* (Monk) *Wolfheir* (Viking) *Arg* (Half-orc) ...7 years ago
-
Swords & Wizardry Light: Session # 6 - Two months after our last session (thanks to things like 8th grade finals, a 4 year-old's birthday and party, Father's Day, etc.), we finally had our next ...7 years ago